Trades
Diligence built for the owner-operator businesses driving the busiest roll-up activity in the lower middle market.
How Krewe helps
Three ways to engage in trades.
M&A
M&A in Trades
Trades M&A runs on the platform-and-tuck-in model — a platform acquisition followed by a series of bolt-on acquisitions of smaller owner-operated shops.
- Platform and tuck-in/bolt-on acquisition structuring, including how a target integrates into an existing platform's systems and brand
- Day 1 integration planning for platform acquisitions — field operations handoff, dispatch system migration, and brand transition sequencing
Transaction Advisory
Transaction Advisory in Trades
Trades diligence is as much about the owner as it is about the business — the operational and financial picture in a founder-run trades shop requires depth in dimensions most buyers underestimate.
- Technician utilization and labor productivity analysis as a core operational diligence metric
- Recurring revenue mix — maintenance and service agreements versus one-off install and repair work — and what that mix means for valuation
- Customer acquisition cost and channel mix across referral, paid, and commercial-contract sources
- State contractor license transferability and continuity planning through a change of ownership
- Fleet and equipment condition assessment, job/ticket costing, and gross margin by service line
- Founder and owner dependency risk — how much of the customer relationships, pricing judgment, and operational knowledge lives in one person's head, often the single biggest finding in trades diligence
Strategic Advisory
Strategic Advisory in Trades
On a retainer basis, Krewe's trades-sector work centers on the classic founder bottleneck — building the management layer and reporting discipline an owner-operator business needs before it can either scale or sell.
- Building a real management layer underneath an owner-operator — dispatchers, field supervisors, and a GM function that doesn't run through the founder's phone
- KPI architecture around technician utilization, first-time fix rate, average ticket size, and recurring service agreement attach rate
- Dispatch and scheduling discipline as the business scales past what one person can coordinate informally
- Financial reporting structure built to withstand diligence if a sale, recapitalization, or roll-up conversation happens later
What it surfaces
What trades diligence and advisory work actually finds.
Owner and founder dependency
Recurring vs. one-off revenue mix
Technician productivity and retention
License and permit continuity
Regardless of which capability applies
Trades engagements begin with the Institutional Readiness Assessment
Before any transaction or advisory work begins, the IRA establishes exactly where the business stands — and which capability, or combination of capabilities, makes sense given where the business is today.
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Evaluating a transaction or engagement in trades?
Share where the business is and what you're trying to accomplish. Krewe can engage across M&A, transaction advisory, and strategic advisory — at any stage.